Aaron Hernandez sued by families of 2012 fatal shooting victims

By Haimy Assefa and Chris Boyette, CNN

Updated 8:21 AM ET, Mon March 3, 2014

Photos: Rise and fall of Aaron Hernandez13 photos

Former New England Patriots football player Aaron Hernandez listens during his trial for the murder of Odin Lloyd on Thursday, January 29, in Fall River, Massachusetts. Hernandez pleaded not guilty in the 2012 killings of Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado. He has also been charged in the 2013 death of semipro football player Odin Lloyd.

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Former New England Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez is led into the courtroom to be arraigned on homicide charges Wednesday, May 28, in Boston.

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At a press conference on May 15, Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley announces that Hernandez has been indicted for the July 2012 killings of de Abreu and Furtado and charged with three counts of armed assault with attempt to murder. Prosecutors allege Hernandez killed de Abreu and Furtado after de Abreu bumped into Hernandez at a nightclub, causing him to spill his drink.

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Hernandez is brought into the Attleboro, Massachusetts, District Court for his arraignment on June 26, 2013. He was charged with first-degree murder in Lloyd's death. Hernandez was release by the Patriots less than two hours after his arrest.

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Hernandez catches a pass during Super Bowl XLVI on February 5, 2012.

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Hernandez scores a 12-yard touchdown in the third quarter of Super Bowl XLVI.

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Hernandez celebrates his Super Bowl touchdown.

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Hernandez answers questions during Super Bowl Media Day on January 31, 2012.

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Hernandez scores a touchdown against the Buffalo Bills on January 1, 2012. Hernandez played three seasons with the Patriots, catching 18 touchdowns.

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Tattoos on Hernandez's arm are visible during a pregame warmup on December 4, 2011.

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Hernandez looks up after being tackled during a game in Philadelphia on November 27, 2011.

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Hernandez carries the ball as the Patriots play the Cincinnati Bengals in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on September 10, 2010.

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Hernandez, center, reacts during the SEC Championship game between the Florida Gators and the Alabama Crimson Tide on December 6, 2008. Hernandez's Gators went on to win the national title.

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Story highlights

The former NFL star is being held on first-degree murder charge in death of Odin Lloyd

Families of two men gunned down in separate shootings file wrongful death lawsuits

Meanwhile, Hernandez has been moved to a more restrictive jail unit after a fight

The families of two men who were gunned down in Boston in 2012 have filed wrongful death lawsuits against former New England Patriots player Aaron Hernandez, according to court documents.

The $6 million lawsuits were filed Wednesday on behalf of the families of Daniel Abreu and Safiro Furtado, according to court papers.

Hernandez, who is being held on charges related to another slaying, has not been charged in connection with the deaths of Abreu and Furtado.

The lawsuits claim that Hernandez "recklessly" and "maliciously" shot a firearm from his vehicle into a vehicle carrying Abreu and Furtado, killing them.

The two men were shot and killed in Boston while riding in a 2003 BMW. Two others in the car survived.

At a news conference Wednesday, Salvatore Furtado said his son, Safiro, "was a good boy, a hard worker, very intelligent," according to a woman who interpreted his comments from his native Cape Verdean dialect.

Daniel Abreu supported the family and worked two jobs, his father, Ernesto, said.

The prosecutor's office of Suffolk County has not identified any suspects in this case, according to Jack Wark, a spokesman for Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley.

The investigation by the homicide unit of the Boston police and Suffolk County district attorney is ongoing and "very active," Wark said.

Civil suits may be filed while a criminal investigation is ongoing, but the step is unusual, said CNN legal analyst Paul Callan. Civil and criminal cases, however, have different standards of proof.

The loss of Abreu and Furtado should matter and there is no reason to wait, said attorney William T. Kennedy.

Meanwhile, Hernandez has been moved to a more restrictive jail unit while a fight with another inmate is investigated, Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson told CNN Thursday. Hodgson said the move wasn't disciplinary but rather standard procedure.

Hernandez has been placed in a higher-level security unit and is allowed out of his cell for one hour a day, the sheriff said. He will not interact with other prisoners and must wear handcuffs and leg shackles.

In January, unsealed court documents revealed that police had directly suggested that the former tight end may have pulled the trigger in the unsolved double homicides.

"There is ... probable cause to believe that Aaron Hernandez was operating the suspect vehicle used in the shooting homicides ... and may have been the shooter," said a recently unsealed warrant from June 2013.

The warrant was used to search a bag of clothes with Hernandez's name on it and a Toyota 4Runner linked to him that, according to court documents, was seen at the scene of the crime by witnesses the night of the killings.

CNN has reported that a grand jury has been looking into whether Hernandez played a role in the drive-by shooting, said law enforcement sources in January.

Hernandez is awaiting trial on murder charges in the 2013 shooting death of his friend Odin Lloyd. He has pleaded not guilty.

Lloyd's family also filed a wrongful death suit against Hernandez in December, according to Kevin Phelan, the family's attorney.

Hernandez is also named in another civil suit.

A man that sources have described as Hernandez's "muscle man," Alexander Bradley, has filed a civil lawsuit accusing Hernandez of shooting him in the face during an argument after they left a Florida strip club in February 2013.

Bradley lost sight in one eye because of the shooting, according to the lawsuit.